Middle East Roundup…& Have You Heard What’s Happening on Wall Street?

Gaddafi is still hanging on somewhere. He seems to have found his new niche as deposed leader with a cause. This is a fairly good place to be historically speaking if he can find sponsors, or if he manages to have tucked away enough wealth to be able to fund a guerrilla army. The NATO allies dismiss his loyalists as mercenaries, but what mercenaries would fight for such a seemingly lost cause? With the department of disinformation news cycles being as short as they are, Gaddafi will be shuffled to the back pages in a few more days and another more interesting crisis will appear or be manufactured.

Syria is brewing on the back burner and could become the next hot issue. With Assad sacrificed on the altar of the Neocon decision to make the Middle East democratic and capitalist in the image of the NATO nations, no matter how many innocent civilians or sleepy civil servants have to be killed in the process. Obama has fit right in with the Bush crowd on this. They agree on what they want. Now have they succeeded in any place? What about Iraq? Is that a thriving capitalist democracy now that American troops are planning the final withdrawal? Will that withdrawal even happen now with pressure from the right to keep thousands of troops there forever?

The State Department Reports are compilations of news items, hardly what I would call cogent analysis. This must either be a reflection of the limited budget the State Department has or to the lack of interest in Iraq. Statistics show the electrical grid still not meeting demand. Source

The CIA fact book reports that 90% of the countries revenue comes from Oil. The country finally has returned to the level of oil production that it had before the invasion, but the revenue has not resulted in any change in the lives of the average Iraqi. Source

A report on suicide bombing deaths in Iraq over the last decade. Report says 11% of deaths from such bombings. Source

This report says situation in Iraq is increasingly dangerous. But this could be some propaganda piece to keep troops in Iraq past the deadline.

From Washington Post Article

“Iraq remains an extraordinarily dangerous place to work,” Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the U.S. special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, wrote in his quarterly report to Congress and the Obama administration. “It is less safe, in my judgment, than 12 months ago.” Source

Reports from the Inspector General for Iraq if you are interested. They seem to paint a less than rosy picture of what is going on in Iraq contradicting some of what the Department of State and Defense are saying. Source

And here we have the expected result. The Iraqi government is inching its way to allow American troops to stay. The Iraqi governing coalition needs a counter balance to the influence of the Turks and Iranians as well as domestic enemies. They are still dependent on the presence of the USA and it is highly debatable that they will be able to remain in government if the US pulls out at this time.

Excerpt from Christian Science Monitor Story:

“Under intense US pressure, Iraqi leaders have agreed to start negotiations on keeping some American soldiers here in a deal that signaled a realignment of political alliances.”Source

The Turks and Kurds are going at it again with Turkish air raids in Iraq. Source

So have the Iranians seeming to have coordinated attacks against Kurds with the Turks. Source

This is a fairly comprehensive source for information regarding Iran in Iraq. It essentially says that Iranian involvement in Iraq is quite extensive but compared to what that is not provided. Note: there are plans for a pipeline from Iran, through Iraq to Syria. Source

Info about pipeline between Iran, Iraq and Syria. Will the US and NATO allow this? Will they have any choice? What does Turkey have to say about it? Turkey is currently on the outs with Syria, Israel and is battling the Kurds. It is also a NATO country with an advanced military that was initially deployed against the Soviet Union but is now mostly engaged in counter insurgency against the Kurds. Source

This is more detailed information about pipeline from Iran to Syria. This indicates that Iran expects their ally in Syria to stabilize and for Assad to remain in power. This will provide a counterbalance to Iranian dependence on Turkey for transit to the west for their gas and oil. Things are more complex when you follow the energy. Perhaps all this suppression of Kurds has more to do with securing pipelines than anything to do with Kurdish autonomy. Source

And finally, back here, events are developing on Wall Street. There is a revolutionary grassroots effort by real people to take back the nation by protests and occupying the symbol of corporate power, that being Wall Street. Of course, if you only get your news from the major (corporate-owned) “news” outlets you know nothing of this. Only astroturf-created and corporate-controlled Tea Party events are being covered. As many as 100,000 or more people trying to occupy Wall St. ignored. And it’s not just Fox, ALL the major media “news” outlets, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, etc ALL are blacking out this very important and major news story. Why? If there was ever a doubt the major media “news” is nothing but paid government/corporate propaganda, that doubt is ended today. This is a story you must follow direct and via independent media…or not at all. One wonders if the powers that be can keep this major of an event hidden for long. The story continues…

(Note: Revolution Radio will cover Take Back Wall St. The revolution may not be televised, but it will be broadcast on YouTube)